England 14 South Africa 25: The bankrupting of England

Doomed captain and coach booed again as the faithful make clear they have had enough

England captain Martin Corry stares at yet another defeat

In an itinerary that might have been planned by a descendant of the man who invented the rack, England completed their autumn collection by walking the catwalk to a cacophony of catcalls. They began the campaign with a record defeat by New Zealand, which was followed by Argentina's first victory here.

The Red Rose brigade kidded themselves that last week's two-point defeat of South Africa was a turning point. Yesterday abnormal service was resumed, converting England's predicament from poor to dire. And the two most incendiary issues remain to be dealt with: the futures of Andy Robinson, the head coach, and Martin Corry, the captain. They have finally reached the end of the road. Under their leadership England's record is wretched - three matches won out of 11 this year - and yesterday's performance was almost unbelievably bad. Before the end, the spectators were deserting the new grandiose Twickenham, deserting their country.

There is no point in getting rid of people unless there are obvious successors in line. Robinson, who was in his element as assistant to Sir Clive Woodward, has found promotion a bridge too far. It would have been better for all concerned if he had left with the other coaches in last April's shake-up. Instead he is hanging on for grim life. Last night he declared, not for the first time: "I'm not walking away from this." His fate will be decided at a review of the autumn shambles on 7 December.

England blew a 14-3 lead here as South Africa - an under-strength South Africa - responded with 22 unanswered points, a result of greater invention and intensity and the kicking of Andre Pretorius, who dropped four goals. The English had not seen anything like it since Jannie de Beer slotted five drop goals in a World Cup quarter- final in Paris in 1999.

The two countries clash again in next year's World Cup, and that is one reason why the Rugby Football Union have to take drastic action before the start of the Six Nations. Rob Andrew has said he doesn't want the role of head coach but either he, Brian Ashton or, heaven forbid, a recruit from the southern hemisphere, will have to be employed.

The RFU cannot afford to stay with the status quo. Twickenham will be half-full. As for Corry, like Robinson he is passionate and honest and has admirable qualities, but the two share something else - they are simply not good enough. England do have a dynamic No 8. His name is Dan Ward-Smith, he plays for Bristol and everybody knows it except Robinson.

Elsewhere, England do not have the strength in depth that a few years ago was taken for granted, either in the coaching team or playing squad. And the timing of all this has left them with the dilemma: stay with the same or go for broke. They have to go with the latter. Last July, Andrew, then still at Newcastle, visited the Blue Bulls in Pretoria to see how they do things in South Africa, and he returned with a few pointers.

These are the same Blue Bulls who last week passed a vote of no confidence in the Springboks coach, Jake White, and demanded his resignation. White, who in 2004 was named by the IRB as coach of the year, has been summoned to a meeting with the SARFU next week, even though the Boks still have a match to play, against a World XV at Leicester.

"There's one definite in this game," White said. "Coaches get fired." Whether yesterday's exploits will be enough to save him remains to be seen, but he is being seen as a successor to Pat Howard at Leicester.

In England they do things rather differently, although a prominent insider, who didn't want to be quoted, said: "We were never ready for professionalism, and even though we won the World Cup we are still living in cloud- cuckoo-land."

In his wisdom White decided that the best way to play Test rugby over here was to leave most of the best of South Africa's Test players at home. It didn't show yesterday in a contest that could have been billed as the unspeakable in pursuit of the incoherent. England were six points to the good in the opening 10 minutes, courtesy of two penalties by Andy Goode, and when they got their only try on the half-hour it gave them an 11-point cushion.

Goode's cross-kick to the right corner was knocked back by Mathew Tait and Mark Cueto claimed the try. The referee, Allan Lewis, had a perfect view and still missed the fact that Cueto failed to ground the ball. He didn't even call for the video, which would have told him what his eyes didn't.

Instead of taking advantage, England did the opposite. From the restart Pat Sanderson knocked on and a penalty was conceded which Pretorius kicked, repeating the feat a few minutes later. On the stroke of half-time a long pass from Pretorius found, of all people, the prop Christoffel Johannes van der Linde basking in the centre, and he smashed through Josh Lewsey for a seven-pointer which gave the Boks the lead.

The previous Saturday there had been a similar scenario, England conceding 10 points on half-time. On that occasion they came back strongly; this time it was the Boks who got stronger, Pretorius adding a hat-trick of drop goals to one in the first half, and the words "nails" and "coffin" came to mind. As Goode lost his composure, and he was in good company, England's only ploy was the cross-kick. The Springbok line-out contained more moves.

As the South Africans celebrated their first win here since 1997 and their first victory on the road this year, Robinson attempted to put a brave face on things. "For 20 minutes we played well. [The players] put 100 per cent effort in and I have to give them credit. We've had four hard games and there are a lot of tired players in the dressing room.

"This was a good South African team and it was hard work for us. At 14-3 we were in control of the match. We can improve the way we attack but we are a work in progress and we're moving forward." No, they're not. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.

MAN FOR MAN MARKING AT TWICKENHAM... By Paul Trow

England

Star performer: Joe Worsley 8

Apart from maintaining a Herculean tackle count, the Wasps flanker posed more of a threat with the ball in hand than any of the England back line.

Josh Lewsey 6

Did not need to repeat last weekend's try-saving heroics. Seemed oddly subdued at a time when England needed its senior men to lead from the front.

Mark Cueto 6

A tale of two tries - one he scored that wasn't, one he fluffed, after catching a crosskick, that should have been. Put in a few decent left-foot touch-finders.

Mathew Tait 5

Does not appear to have developed much understanding with Noon despite playing with him at club level. Made no breaks, caused no problems.

Jamie Noon 5

Anonymous and unimaginative. Does not possess the attacking instincts or range of passing to justify playing at inside centre. Bank on Barkley next.

Ben Cohen 7

The pick of England's backs, though that's not saying much. Yeoman-like in defence and expected to barge into the pain zone whenever in possession.

Andy Goode 5

Began promisingly, kicking from hand and floor with authority. His offloads were fairly slick too. Then a conversion was rushed and it all started to unravel.

Peter Richards 6

Played with more confidence this time and produced several of the darting breaks from the base of the scrum that so enthuse the Gloucester faithful.

Phil Vickery 6

Not certain whether 80 minutes at loose-head is entirely his idea of fun. Showed his old zip and power early on, but struggled to last the course in full.

Lee Mears 5

The lineout wobbled after an encouraging start. His lack of physical presence counted in the heavy exchanges. Pacy with the ball but more is required.

Julian White 5

Involved in a number of spats in the quarter and was eventually penalised for pulling down a scrum. Contributed little apart from set-piece dependability.

Tom Palmer 6

Faded after ticking all the right boxes early on. Prominent in lineouts, but badly affected by giving away a penalty that ultimately cost England dear.

Chris Jones 7

Given a rare start and battled through to the bitter end. Worked well in the middle and at the front of the lineout, and showed a welcome turn of pace.

Pat Sanderson 5

Got to grips with his open-side responsibilities before the interval, but a clumsy knock-on at a restart led to a Springbok penalty that undermined him.

Martin Corry 5

The undying optimism of the previous Saturday gradually gave way to despondency and resignation. Toiled manfully, but simply ran out of ideas.

Replacements

George Chuter 6

Late arrival, should be first-choice.

Ben Kay 5

Replaced Palmer without much effect.

Lewis Moody 6

Could not deliver last week's impact.

Shaun Perry 5

Competed willingly but in a lost cause.

Toby Flood 5

Given three minutes to turn the tide.

Tim Payne

Not used.

Mark van Gisbergen

Not used.

South Africa

Star performer: Ricky Januarie 8

Usually a player who fails to catch the eye, the Springbok No 9 blossomed with his deadly left boot, his snappy pass and numerous nippy breaks.

Francois Steyn 7

More glimpses of his silky skills and calm temperament. Perhaps overdoes the long-range drop-goal efforts but his running out of defence is a real plus.

Akona Ndungane 6

A quieter game than last weekend as his duties mainly consisted of policing the touchline, shadowing the opposing wings and tidying up loose ball.

Wynand Olivier 7

By contrast, showed up more prominently this time. Highlights were a stunning early break up the middle and a brave charge-down on Lewsey.

Jean de Villiers 7

Spent a second successive Saturday in the faces of the England midfield in search of interceptions, and spearheaded a couple of thrilling raids downfield.

Bryan Habana 5

Had little chance to stretch his legs and seemed prone to elementary errors like the occasional knock-on and taking out a runner off the ball in front of the referee.

Andre Pretorius 8

Fell one short of Jannie de Beer's five drop goals against England in the 1999 World Cup, but four was still a record haul for a Twickenham visitor.

C J van der Linde 7

Weathered an early storm when his duel with White threatened to descend into silliness. Grew in stature and the pirouette for his try was pure Patrick Swayze.

John Smit 7

The veteran hooker is turning into an inspirational captain. Works tirelessly all over the park and after a shaky start his throwing in was unerringly accurate.

B J Botha 6

The quiet man of the Springbok pack appeared comfortable when scrummaging against Vickery. His lifting in the lineouts was immaculately timed.

Johan Ackermann 6

One of Smit's two main targets at the lineouts, and he did not disappoint with the possession he delivered. A bit more undisciplined, though, in broken play.

Johann Muller 6

A huge physical specimen who is prepared to mix it with anyone in a white shirt. However, one feels he hasn't done enough to become a first-choice lock.

Kabamba Floors 6

Reminiscent of a pint of Guinness with his bottle-blond hair-do. Gave a stout display as well as he scampered about radiating enthusiasm and appetite.

Juan Smith 8

It didn't take long to become apparent how much South Africa had missed this all-action, line-breaking, lineout-bossing flanker in last week's defeat.

Danie Rossouw 7

Once again the outstanding lineout forward in the game. Operating from No 8 this time rather than flanker, he always spelled danger with the ball.

Replacements

Albert van den Berg 6

On for Smith with the game won.

Gerrie Britz 6

Brought on for Floors to add solidity.

Deon Carstens

Not used.

J P Pietersen

Not used.

Chiliboy Ralepelle

Not used.

Ruan Pienaar

Not used.

Bevin Fortuin

Not used.